The dark side of the pill, as revealed by new research [View all]

In the 1960s, the FDA's approval of the birth control pill was seen as a catalyst for the sexual revolution. Women celebrated what seemed to be a newfound freedom to have sex, and children, on their own terms.

Six decades later, the pill and other forms of birth control provide the same freedom for many. We're learning, however, that the revolution came with a hidden dark side. From mental fog to pelvic pain, the pill can cause damaging physical and mental effects. What's worse, pressure from partners, family, friends, and society itself — any time women are told they "should" be on birth control — has socialized everyone to believe it's a woman's responsibility to prevent pregnancy.

In her ironically-titled book Just Get on the Pill, out this month, University of Oregon sociology professor Krystale E. Littlejohn shows how birth control hasn't been as empowering as society first hailed it to be, especially for marginalized populations.

Littlejohn's team interviewed 103 women in the San Francisco area between 2009 and 2011. All were unmarried (as unmarried women are the most likely to have an unintended pregnancy) and from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Some gave birth, others didn't. Some had undergone abortions. This research, affiliated with Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley makes Just Get on the Pill an even more powerful read.

https://mashable.com/article/birth-control-just-get-on-the-pill
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While I do think her sample is laughably small, this is an interesting article and makes very valid points about BC being pushed as solely a "women's issue" when it clearly is NOT. Disclaimer: I was on the pill in the 1960s with absolutely no side effects at all, so I can't complain. Other methods? Not so much.....